Illiberalism
Gilead
Donald Trump
Finances
Fig. 1. Trump International Hotel, Las Vegas, undated image credited to https://www.flickr.com/photos/glynlowe/ [bad link], via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
[Leticia] James’s office calculated last week that, including interest, [Donald] Trump owes more than $450 million. Trump can appeal the decision, but he has to pay the penalty in full first. And unfortunately for him, he accrues more interest every day.[1]
Tori Otten reports that Donald Trump’s lawyers have petitioned for a delay in the fine imposed for fraud, with the logic fairly obviously being that if he had the cash on hand, he wouldn’t have to pray for relief from the court.[2]
The request for delay is likely so [Donald] Trump can try either to raise enough capital to pay the fine, or to find a company willing to help him post a bond. Trump reportedly holds only about $600 million in liquid assets, not nearly enough to pay the millions he owes in this and other legal penalties.
Trump owes writer E. Jean Carroll $88.3 million for sexually assaulting her in the mid-1990s and then defaming her twice when denying it. He also owes thousands of dollars in fines that he racked up during his recent trials for attacking courtroom staff, and $400,000 to The New York Times.[3]
Trump likely has the assets, but he’d have to sell them or offer them as collateral. Bill Cohan thinks that might be painful for our delusional raging narcissist-formerly-in-chief.[4] I’d be looking for more grift, you know, like some golden tennis shoes.[5]
Joe Hernandez, “What to know about the debut of Trump’s $399 golden, high-top sneakers,” National Public Radio, February 20, 2024, https://www.npr.org/2024/02/19/1232438349/donald-trump-golden-high-top-sneakers
Aaron Katersky and Peter Charalambous, “Letitia James says she’s prepared to seize Trump’s buildings if he can’t pay his $354M civil fraud fine,” ABC News, February 20, 2024, https://abcnews.go.com/US/letitia-james-shes-prepared-seize-trumps-assets-pay/story?id=107381482
William D. Cohan, “Sussing the Trump Estate Sale,” Puck, February 21, 2024, https://puck.news/sussing-the-trump-estate-sale/
Tori Otten, “It Sure Looks Like Trump Can’t Pay the Bond in His Fraud Trial,” New Republic, February 22, 2024, https://newrepublic.com/post/179203/trump-pay-fraud-trial-judgment-delay
Imperialism
Israel
Palestine
Fig. 2. The ruins of a terminal at the Gaza airport. Image by Said Khatib (Agence France-Presse) on September 9, 2018, via the Times of Israel,[6] fair use.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has finally unveiled Israel’s plans for Gaza after hostilities end in the enclave, submitting to his war cabinet a formal proposal that directly contradicts the objectives of the US.
The one-page document, released overnight by his office, makes no mention of any role for the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank-based rival to Hamas that the Biden administration wants to see take over control, and rejects unilateral international steps towards recognition of a Palestinian state.
It also foresees a sizeable security buffer within the besieged enclave, an outcome the US has made clear it opposes.[7]
Mehul Srivastava, Neri Zilber, and Heba Saleh, “Israel unveils plan for complete postwar control of Gaza,” Financial Times, February 23, 2024, https://www.ft.com/content/063495e8-645c-4cec-8b8e-290fdc32044f
- [1]Tori Otten, “It Sure Looks Like Trump Can’t Pay the Bond in His Fraud Trial,” New Republic, February 22, 2024, https://newrepublic.com/post/179203/trump-pay-fraud-trial-judgment-delay↩
- [2]Tori Otten, “It Sure Looks Like Trump Can’t Pay the Bond in His Fraud Trial,” New Republic, February 22, 2024, https://newrepublic.com/post/179203/trump-pay-fraud-trial-judgment-delay↩
- [3]Tori Otten, “It Sure Looks Like Trump Can’t Pay the Bond in His Fraud Trial,” New Republic, February 22, 2024, https://newrepublic.com/post/179203/trump-pay-fraud-trial-judgment-delay↩
- [4]William D. Cohan, “Sussing the Trump Estate Sale,” Puck, February 21, 2024, https://puck.news/sussing-the-trump-estate-sale/↩
- [5]Joe Hernandez, “What to know about the debut of Trump’s $399 golden, high-top sneakers,” National Public Radio, February 20, 2024, https://www.npr.org/2024/02/19/1232438349/donald-trump-golden-high-top-sneakers↩
- [6]Agence France-Presse and Times of Israel, “20 years after its opening, destroyed Gaza airport embodies grounded peace hopes,” Times of Israel, September 12, 2018, https://www.timesofisrael.com/20-years-after-its-opening-destroyed-gaza-airport-embodies-grounded-peace-hopes/↩
- [7]Mehul Srivastava, Neri Zilber, and Heba Saleh, “Israel unveils plan for complete postwar control of Gaza,” Financial Times, February 23, 2024, https://www.ft.com/content/063495e8-645c-4cec-8b8e-290fdc32044f↩